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Twitter to help decide Final Vote on final day

Twitter to help decide Final Vote on final day

Data Up: As the AL and NL Final Vote races come down to the wire, Matthew Leach breaks down the candidates' numbers

By AJ Cassavell
/
MLB.com |

The race for the 2013 All-Star Game Final Vote is coming down to the wire, and the final six hours of voting will see Twitter transformed into a virtual ballot.

AL CANDIDATES BY THE NUMBERS

Candidate

W-L

ERA

SO

SV-HLD

Benoit

2-0

1.69

47

8-9

Delabar

5-1

1.74

57

1-4

Robertson

4-1

2.23

46

0-21

Scheppers

5-1

1.84

29

0-18

Uehara

2-0

1.88

53

6-13

* Stats entering July 11

Fans can vote for their candidate using the designated hashtag of that player from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET on Thursday. Those hashtags will count as part of the overall vote total used to determine the final player on the American League and National League All-Star rosters.

Entering the final day of voting, Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman (#VoteFreddie) leads the NL, while Blue Jays reliever Steve Delabar (#RaiseTheBar) is tops in the AL. Dodgers phenom Yasiel Puig (#VotePuig) and Yankees reliever David Robertson (#HighSocksForVotes) sit in second place, respectively.

More than 50 million online votes have been cast already, and many of them have been prompted by Twitter promotions and requests. But on Thursday morning, the use of Twitter as a campaigning tool goes to a whole new level.

It marks the second consecutive year that the Final Vote will include a social balloting element. Fans may follow @MLB on the popular social networking service for the latest standings updates in advance of the 4 p.m. ET balloting deadline.

Mobile voting in the U.S. and Canada is open to everyone. In the U.S., to receive the 2013 All-Star Game Final Vote sponsored by freecreditscore.com mobile ballot, text the word "VOTE" to 89269. To vote for a specific player, simply text message your choice using the codes below to 89269 (Example: Text "A1" to vote for Joaquin Benoit). In Canada, fans should text their choices to 101010. Standard message and data rates may apply. To vote for your player via text message, use the codes below.

The fun doesn't end there, however. Fans, having already decided the starters and final player on each team, once again will have the opportunity to participate in the official voting for the Ted Williams Most Valuable Player presented by Chevrolet via the 2013 All-Star Game MVP Vote on MLB.com during the All-Star Game.

The 84th All-Star Game will be televised nationally by FOX Sports, in Canada by Rogers Sportsnet and RDS, and worldwide by partners in more than 200 countries via MLB International's independent feed. ESPN Radio and ESPN Radio Deportes will provide national radio coverage of the All-Star Game. MLB Network and SiriusXM also will also provide comprehensive All-Star Week coverage. For more information, please visit allstargame.com.

AJ Cassavell is a reporter for MLB.com. Follow him on Twitter @ajcassavell. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.